San Jose, Ca Dealer update

[Alan_Hepburn]

I just got back from having a nice chat with Dave over at the San Jose, Ca dealership. Here's what he had to say about a few things:

They are leasing the location right now from the Jaguar dealer on Stevens Creek at Saratoga - they expect to be in their own location (next door to the Rover dealer on Stevens Creek and Lawrence) by the end of the year. The current location is the lot directly east of the Jag lot - right now there are a bunch of used cars from the Jag dealer on the lot but they are expected to be moved in the next couple of weeks. Right now the showroom is about 90% complete. The furniture is pretty much all in place, but it looks like they're still installing electronics and stuff.

The permit issue with the permanent location next to the Rover dealer involves the City of San Jose and their requirement that all businesses maintain a 25 foot "green belt" from the curb. Apparently it's standard procedure to request a variance to overcome that limitation, but each variance is treated as a brand new request instead of being able to use the experience gained from other businesses who have already been granted the variance. Other than taking forever to go through the process, there's no real roadblock.

They are expecting to start receiving cars in about 3 weeks - They will have 2 cars of their own - one for a showroom display and one for demo drives. Demo drives will not require a reservation, but expect a long wait much of the time, especially on weekends.

"Orphan" cars - the general thought is that when a reservation holder turns down their car it will NOT be offered to the next person on the list because that will cause an avalanche effect on the entire list. They will also most likely NOT keep a list of prospective buyers because of the logistics involved. He said that the typical scenario is that if a car becomes available then it sits on the lot for a while and they start calling their list names. But if the first person on the list misses the call they have to decide how many times to attempt contact before moving to the next person - meanwhile other people see the car on the lot and start asking why it's not available. And then there's the issue of the person they're trying to call being unavailable for any reason, but then complaining when they find out they've been bypassed. He thought that what will most likely happen is that the "orphan" car will most likely be sold to the first person who happens to be there when it becomes available. It's going to be interesting to see how this all boils out...

I told him that he can expect to see my ugly face in there quite often - even though I don't expect to see my car for almost a year!

[jwight]

"They will also most likely NOT keep a list of prospective buyers because of the logistics involved."

"But if the first person on the list misses the call they have to decide how many times to attempt contact before moving to the next person - meanwhile other people see the car on the lot and start asking why it's not available. And then there's the issue of the person they're trying to call being unavailable for any reason, but then complaining when they find out they've been bypassed. He thought that what will most likely happen is that the "orphan" car will most likely be sold to the first person who happens to be there when it becomes available. It's going to be interesting to see how this all boils out..."

That is asking for trouble Supposedly when we sent in the $99 and then confirmed a car the confirmation info was sent to Smartville for production. So, if one has confirmed one has a car on the boat or in the pipeline. These guys are acting like the cars come out of nowhere and then it's first come, first served, sorry if you missed our phone call, your car's been sold. Not encouraging, but then not surprising either. Maybe your guy missed the smart training sessions.

John

[Carnut]

Look, they cannot sell the car over MSRP, so the greed factor is a non issue. I'm confident that they will make an effort to contact the buyer prior to the arrival of the car at their center. I envision an email from both the dealer and IB, very much like the invites to the test drives. You can't fault the dealer if there is no response within a few days. They need to sell the car in order to stay in business.

Many a suggestion was posted here to become "friendly" with your local dealer.

Remember, smart HQ has always said that the dealer will notify you to come in and finalize the actual order. If you snooze, you lose.

JMHO

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by jwight

Supposedly when we sent in the $99 and then confirmed a car the confirmation info was sent to Smartville for production. So, if one has confirmed one has a car on the boat or in the pipeline. These guys are acting like the cars come out of nowhere and then it's first come, first served, sorry if you missed our phone call, your car's been sold. Not encouraging, but then not surprising either. Maybe your guy missed the smart training sessions.

Well the question I asked was not regarding notifying the buyer when THEIR car came in, but was concerning what happens to that car if the prospective buyer says "I changed my mind - I no longer want the car." That car is now an "orphan". Speculation has been that it would be offered to the next person in line with a reservation at that dealership, or a nearby dealership, or somewhere in the country, or ...

The guy I talked to basically said that wouldn't work for a few reasons, including the fact that the next person on the list most likely did not order the same car and/or options, and it would affect every person on the list BEHIND that person. While it would make sense to offer it to the next person on the list who ordered the same options I can see both sides of the issue. Personally I think they should offer it to ME!

[jwight]

Remember, smart HQ has always said that the dealer will notify you to come in and finalize the actual order. If you snooze, you lose.

JMHO

Carnut, I get what you're saying; hope that's not the standard smart buying experience, nor one of the company's core values.

John

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by jwight

Remember, smart HQ has always said that the dealer will notify you to come in and finalize the actual order. If you snooze, you lose.

JMHO

Carnut, I get what you're saying; hope that's not the standard smart buying experience, nor one of the company's core values.

John

What they have said all along is that you have 30 days. Hopefully, you won't be snoozing for a month.

[jwight]

I don't plan on it and the dealer shouldn't either; we have 30 days to finalize and that shouldn't cause any pain for the dealer, even in San Jozay.

[smart1]

Great information, Alan. If you get a chance, I'd really like to find out how many cars the San Jose dealership will be getting- for the year as well as the first shipment (hopefully in January). Other sites seem to indicate dealers will get the reservation list in a week or two (I don't understand why the delay in the dealers getting the list, but there's a lot in this world I don't understand). Does Dave have any insight into when they will go to the next step of having customers finalizing their reservations?

[Carnut]

Originally Posted by smart1

Great information, Alan. If you get a chance, I'd really like to find out how many cars the San Jose dealership will be getting- for the year as well as the first shipment (hopefully in January). Other sites seem to indicate dealers will get the reservation list in a week or two (I don't understand why the delay in the dealers getting the list, but there's a lot in this world I don't understand). Does Dave have any insight into when they will go to the next step of having customers finalizing their reservations?

Nothing happens until the dealers get their smart Connect computer systems installed and they get trained on its use. Imagine smart HQ having approx 50 of these to do within the next two weeks. Each region will have an IT person visit the center to assist them.